TXAR_J A_--_Redacted.pdf

UNCLASSIFIED

Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition r ------ - - - --- ------ - - -------- - - - ---- - l : NOTE: If o Jumf1(otion and Approval was approved fo1 the p1eceding ocqws1tian, a copy of the approved J&A for the p1edecessor action 1 t must be included 1n the staff package for opp1ovol of tile 111 sran: J&A Tl11s apµues to .1&A s:aff pocl-oges that arr submitted for 1rv1cw :

! o.,d approval 01 a level above the comrocting of:iceI. flle µru l ecessor J&A wilt be ustd ns n reference documem by the opprom19 olf1c1al. : , __________________________________________ ______________________________ _________ J

Choose the funding level for this J&A Document:

0 < S700K ~ > S?OOK and < S 13.SM 0 > S13.5Mand < S93M 0 > S93M

Contracting A ctivity: Air Force Technrcal Applications C.enter (Af-T AC), I 0989 ~. l'at1ick lJrive, Pat rick Al-I~. 1-L 3292~

Purchase Request I Local 10 Number: SR 117267

Program I Project (and PE. Ir appllc:al.Jle): TXAR II

Program Type (PEO or Other Contracting): Other Contracting

. (' f II .

1 1 FAR 6.302· 1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency

Authority include u tit e,: R .

equ1rements

Estimated Contract Cost (including opuons): S 1.606,644.00 J&A Type: 0 C lc1~~ ~ lnd1v1d11dl

COORDINATION ll\FFJ', RS S10_\L.304 (a ))

Date Contracting Officer Signature

Jody G Desormeaux. GG-13. DAF

AMIC DET 2 OL/ PKA (Patrick AFB Fll

DSN: 85'1·0511, COMM: 321-494·0511

Date Chief, Contracting Division

Duane R. Frey, GG-14-0AF

AMIC OET 2 OL/PKA (Patrick AFB Fl) nsN: s r;11.so67. CO\llM· 37 1-494-5067

Date Local Legal Reviewer

Paul H. Blackwell. GG· t 4, OAF 30 March 2016 Attorney Advisor. 25 AF/JA

DSN: 969·2615. COMM: 210-977· 2615

Date Chief of the Contracting Office !COCOl

Veronica Solis. GG· l 5, OAF

AMI( DET 2/PK

DSN: 969-4504. COMM: 210·977-4504

Dale Chier of the Contracting Otfice [COlOl

Della E. Shelton, GS-1 S. OAF 17 Apr2016 HQ ACC AMIC/PK

DSN: 574-91 37. COMM: 757-764-9137

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Justifi cation and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competi tion

APPROVAL 1\1 .. ARS 'd0o , 30 '1 (,1J)

Daw Competi tion Advocat <'

TARA l. MORRISON, Colonel. USAF

Director of Contracting. OL-A(( olnt Base Langley-Eustis. VA

Signature

DSN: 574-537 l, COMM: 757 764 -5371

UNCLASSIFIED f.1;190 2 o f 7

I -- --- - - -- ----- - - - - - ----- --- - - - - --- - - - - - - -- --- ---- --, l NOTE: If a Jumf1cat1on and Approvnl wos approved for the preceding acqwsition. a copy of the approved J&A for the predecessor action l 1 muse be included in the sraff package fo1 approval of the instant J&A. This applies to J&A staff packages tlrot are submitted fo1 review :

I 1 and c.pp1ovof or a level above the contract mg officer. Tht pf'!decessor J&A will bz used as o reference document by the approving ofl1cia'. l t _____________________ ____________________________________________ _____________ J

Choose the funding le vel for this J&A Document

0 s S700K rg: > S 700K .1n d s S 13.SM 0 > S 13.SM and s S93M C > S93M

Contracting Activity: Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFT AC). I 0989 S. Patrick Drive. Patrick AFB. Fl 32925

Purch ase Request / l ocal ID Number: SR 117267

Program I Project (and PE. if applicable): TXAR II

Program Type (PEO or Other Contractin91: Other Contracting

A th .ty c· 1 d f 11 . 1 ) FAR 6.302· I (a)(l )(iri)(A) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Sat isfy u on In( u e u 111 e : A R gency equrrement>

Estimated Contract Cost (includinq opt ionst: S0.00 J&A Tyoe: I Class CEQ lnoividuat

COO ROI NA Tl ON CAF~l).f{S _530_6.30~(a))

, Date

I 1S Mar2016

Program Manager ft\. Claudet te Wells, GG-12, OAF

AFTAcrrrx

USN: 854·2506, COMM: 321-494 -2506

Dare Director. Nuclear Treaty Monitoring

Dilvid C. Merker, SES. OAF 18 Mar 2016 AFTAcm

Date

I 18 Mar 2016

DSN: 854-2356, COMM: 321-494·2356

Acquisit ion Executive

Albert J. Anderson, GG-1 S. D/\F

ArTAC/AQ

DSN: 854·6038. COMM: 321·494·6038

I :>ate AFTAC Commander

I JENNIFER P. SOV/\01\ Colonel, US/\F

24Mar 2016 AFTAC/CC

Signature

'l DSN: 854-2334, COMM: 32 1-494·2334

APPRO V AL !AFFARS 53.0Q..J04(a))

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I. Cont racting Activity.

Requiring Activity: Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTACITTX), 10989 S. Patrick Drive, Patrick

AFB, FL 32925

Procuring Activity: AMIC DET 2 OUPKA (Patrick AFB FL), 10989 S. Patrick Drive, Patrick AFB, FL 32925

II. Nature and/or d escription of t he act ion be ing processed.

Request approval to award a sole source contract to Southern Methodist University (SMU}, P.O Box 750302, Dallas, TX 75275-0302. The proposed acquisition is for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) of the Texas Array (TXAR) located on Southern Methodist University property in western Texas. This is a Cost contract with a performance period of one (1) base year, four (4) option years, and a six (6) month option to extend services. Technical, cost, and schedule risks are minimized in this follow-on contract because the contractor has performed the same and similar tasks in a satisfactory manner for over 14 years. Cost and price analysis, using FAR 15.404-1 techniques, will be used to ensure the final price is fair and reasonable.

Ill. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

AFT AC has a requirement for operation and maintenance of its seismic array (TXAR) located in western Texas near the town of Lajitas, on the geologic area known as the Permian Basin. TXAR is part of the International Monitoring System (IMS; discussed below). The primary mission of AFTAC is the operation and maintenance of the US Atomic Energy Detection System (USAEDS). TXAR is a critical part of the USAEDS, providing timely seismic data to AFTAC for analysis. The array was initially installed at a cost of approximately $800,000 and is now valued at over $1 .3 million.

he 1.3M does not include the value of the land as it is owned or leased by SMU. The estimated average annual cost of this service requirement is $290,000. The contractor will be responsible for operating the array, monitoring generated seismic data (for seismological correctness and equipment malfunction), and calibrating and maintaining the array equipment. Data availability is a measure of all requested data available over a one-year period. Data timeliness is a measurement of data arrival at the US National Data Center (NOC). To be considered timely, the data cannot be delayed more than five minutes from the event. This contract requires 98% data availability and 97% data timeliness. All activities will be in compliance with technical documentation provided by AFTAC and in compliance with international treaties. General requirements will be contained in the PWS. The estimated value of the contract is $1 ,606,644 with the following breakdown:

Base Year (FY17): $271 ,585: Opt 1 (FY18): $278.186: Opt 2 (FY19): $292,000; Opt 3 (FY20): $299,213;

Opt 4 (FY21): $306,647; Extension (FY22) (6-months): $159,012

The base year period of performance of this effort will be from 1 October 2016 through 30 Sept 2017, and it will be funded by 3400 appropriations.

IV. Statutory authority permitting Other than Full and Open Competition.

The statutory authority for this acquisition is 10 U.S.C 2304(c) (1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 . In accordance with (IAW) FAR 6.302-1 (a)(2)(iii)(A), only one source is available for this acquisition wh ich can prevent a substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition. In addition. IAW FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(B), only once source is available for this acquisition

UNCLASSIFIED Page 3 of 7 which can prevent unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements also is applicable.

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

The purpose of this project is to operate the above-described seismic array in the most efficient manner possible as a continuing source of high quality seismic data for use in monitoring compliance with nuclear test ban treaties, and for use in Government sponsored research projects. The work called for under this project was initially undertaken as a direct result of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) (attached) between the Air Force Technical Applications Center and the Southern Methodist University, dated 28 June 2002. The operation of TXAR provides the means for continuing to meet those original objectives.

SMU, an educational institution, remains the only viable source for this service. TXAR is located upon a tract of land solely and completely controlled by SMU near Lajitas, Texas. Because SMU conducts other proprietary research in and on these facilities, including seismic sensors and infrasound array research, they will allow only AFT AC personnel access to the site; all visitors must be accompanied by SMU personnel. These specific access restrictions were documented in Dr. Larry Smith's (Director of Research Administration for the University at the time) letter dated 19 December 1995 (no copy available). Dr. Smith reiterated these restrictions in his letter dated 29 January 1996 (attached), and they were again confirmed by the SMU Assistant Vice President for Research Administration and Technology Management in her letter dated 7 June 2011 (attached). Based on recent (2015) verbal discussions, SMU maintains its position of requiring SMU escorts for all visitors to the site, including AFTAC personnel, and refusing to permit third party contractors access to the site.

The TXAR site from its inception has provided unique and valuable attributes for seismic and infrasound data collection. Before the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), now the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), originally contracted for the DARPA-TXAR array in 1993, AFTAC conducted an exhaustive worldwide comparison of potential sites. Sites were evaluated according to their background noise, which must be nonexistent in order to successfully acquire seismic data. Based on this research , AFTAC operated a th ree-site (Southern U.S Seismic, SUSS) array located across the Permian Basin, of which one site was co-located with DARPA research efforts near Lajitas. In an effort to consolidate government efforts, the AFTAC site near Lajitas was integrated into the DARPA-TXAR array.

Competing this follow-on contract via a full and open competition would result in a substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition. It could also result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling AFTAC's USAEDS and IMS reporting requirements if no other qualified contractor were identified, or if SMU chose not to compete in the new service requirement.

The only avenue to a full and open competition would require identification and construction of a completely new array in a different geographical location within the Permian Basin, as SMU exercises proprietary access to the existing TXAR site. Its proprietary interest is related to the other research and efforts it maintains at the site, i.e., should a contractor express an interest in competing, they could not access the existing site. However, identification and construction of a new site is neither economically feasible nor fiscally responsible , as costs could approach $5M.

For cost comparison, a similar seismic array site constructed in less remote, less arduous Wyoming terrain , and with fewer boreholes than the TXAR array, was funded in 2009. The cost of building this Wyoming- research array, including drilling and casing .. boreholes, and constructing the infrastructure (including the vault, grounding, and solar panel support pole installation). was $728K. The Wyoming array was constructed on land leased from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Applying a

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20% inflation rate brings this construction cost to -$874K in today's costs.

If the current TXAR site were to be relocated, the effort to find a suitable location which would provide similar quiet background noise characteristics, and to acquire the land rights to such site, could by itself take 12-24 months, based on similar efforts in other more accessible areas. During the first 12 months teams would be required to travel to various locations with specialized equipment, obtain property owners' permission to access land, and determine the optimal geographic location for a site. Obtaining ownership of the property chosen would require an estimated 12 months, and the subsequent site survey would require an estimated 6 months. Once site acquisition was finalized it would then require 6-18 months to construct a new site, assuming appropriate fiscal year funds were available. Drilling costs (only) for ten new boreholes in the Permian Basin terrain would cost an estimated $1 .5M because of the igneous rock structure and the terrain over which heavy drilling equipment would have to be transported to and then traverse to access the site selected. The new bore holes would also be deeper than those on the current TXAR site, in accordance with current bore hole construction design. Additional infrastructure on the new site would include either one large single building, or multiple smaller buildings, to house equipment.

Additional costs would be incurred to remove and transport any existing AFTAC-owned TXAR equipment and purchase any requisite new equipment. With construction uncertainties, costs could approach $5M.

During this entire period of time the .existing TXAR site would need to remain operational in order to provide continuous seismic data to the IMS in accordance with our obligation to the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) as a certified IMS station. The IMS is a worldwide network of observational technology that helps to verify compliance with and detect violations of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The PTS certifies stations planned for the IMS to ensure they meet the required specifications.

System evaluation of any new site includes station design reviews, component testing, and operational testing of equipment. Station design is evaluated for security and reliability considerations. and to ensure that operational procedures and documentation are adequate. Components of the stations are tested for compliance with technical specifications, such as timing and noise levels of sampled data, and monitoring of tamper detection equipment. Data sent from the station in an IMS-standard format are analyzed for compliance with the specified protocol and to ensure that the station data are accurately transmitted, i.e., the certification process is extensive, and any newly constructed array would require this certification in order to become part of the IMS. The PTS certification requires a minimum of 9 months to complete, and can only begin once the station becomes operational.

The TXAR site's combination of remote location and favorable igneous rock structure is so rare the site was adopted by the Global Scientific Experts (GSE) as the low Noise Model prototype for the world . Its value continues today, more than 20 years later, because the most common source of seismic noise:

"cultural noise" (noise originating from the coupling of traffic and machinery energy into the Earth), is practically non-existent.

Spending between $3-5M to relocate the Permian Basin TXAR site under just the assumption that another contractor could fulfill this service, all while continuing to bridge the current contract with SMU for three years (at an estimated cost of $290K per year) in order to maintain the IMS data availability, would be a substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.

To reiterate, SMU, an educational institution, owns or otherwise leases the property on which TXAR is located. It conducts other research and efforts on the site in addition to the TXAR services it provides, and so maintains a proprietary interest in the site. The SMU TXAR site consists of the primary operating

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Justifi cation and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition location housing research and maintenance equipment, multiple operational sensors for the TXAR array, and facilities where the TXAR array data collection and transfer equipment reside. SMU possesses the required scientific skills and knowledge to 1) operate and calibrate the array; 2) evaluate the data to identify equipment malfunctions; and 3) perform seismological evaluations of the data, all at an estimated cost of $290K per year.

VI. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practica ble.

There are no actions that can be taken to remove or overcome barriers to competition in this instance.

Relocation of the site is not fiscally responsible as overall costs would exceed $3M and could approach $5M. Further, the array must be located on this site to provide the continuous and quality seismic data required to remain in compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization Worldwide Monitoring System requirements.

VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer t hat the anticipated cost to the Government will be fa ir and reasonable.

Using the following methods, the contracting officer will be able to determine that the proposed cost will be fair and reasonable: (1) Price analysis will be performed by comparing proposed prices with the Independent Government estimate; (2) Cost analysis will be performed in the event a comparison to the current prices is determined not to be a valid comparison for the purposes of price analysis; and (3) A technical evaluation will be performed by the project officer who has extensive expertise in this field and knowledge of the work to be performed.

IAW DFARS 215.403-1(c)(4(D), the DoD has waived certified cost or pricing data requirements for nonprofit organizations, including educational institutions, on cost-reimbursement no-fee contracts.

However, rates will be verified using established rate agreements between SMU and Department of Health & Human Services. The Contracting Officer will rely on these rate agreements and Other Than Certified Cost and Pricing Data in determining cost to the Government to be fair and reasonable .

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a sta tement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

For this effort, research determined there were 386 U.S. educational institutions that offered geology programs. While some may be capable of operating and maintaining the TXAR as a field site, of the top ten institutions with geology graduate programs, only two were geographically located such that personnel could reach the TXAR array within a time-frame permitting the requisite, expedited resolution of technical on-site problems required to meet USAEDS and International Monitoring System (IMS) reporting requirements. Unfortunately, neither of those schools' personnel is permitted access to the TXAR array site.

Since its inception this effort has continued to be identified as a sole source requirement and, additionally, no other parties have ever expressed an interest in competing during market research . The current contract (FA 7022-12-C-003) was synopsized as a sole source requirement in 2011 . A Sources Sought was posted in FedBizOpps on 9 March 2016. No responses were received.

IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

Since SMU holds a lease on the land on which the TXAR array is located and permits only SMU and escorted AFT AC personnel. access to the site, no other educational institutions or contractors can access the TXAR site to determine their capability and interest in fulfilling this service requirement.

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Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Compet it ion

X. List of sources, if any, that expressed interest in the acq uisition.

SMU is the only entity who is both capable and interested in providing this service. According to over 20 years of market research , no other parties have expressed an interest in competing.

XI. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competit ion before making subsequent acquisitions fo r the supplies or services required.

While relocation of the TXAR site to another Permian Basin location was noted as a possible means to permit competition, the excessive duplication of costs that would be involved, coupled with the risk that accompanies a new and untested service provider, precludes relocation as a viable alternative. Future sources sought and/or requests for information in accordance with DFARS PGI 206.302-1 will be issued with follow-on acquisitions, and routine market trends and capabilities will be documented as they become known to the program office.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XIII . Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete.

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